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Haven't spent much time on here lately and haven't checked your progress, but just saw your ink for the 1st time! It is amazing! I'm itching to get more. It's been just over a year since my chest piece was done. I was waiting until work slowed down and the running schedule slowed down a little. It really looks amazing though. Kudos to your artist and whoever designed it for you.

Haven't spent much time on here lately and haven't checked your progress, but just saw your ink for the 1st time! It is amazing! I'm itching to get more. It's been just over a year since my chest piece was done. I was waiting until work slowed down and the running schedule slowed down a little. It really looks amazing though. Kudos to your artist and whoever designed it for you.

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Thank you so much! The kudos goes to my artist, Scott Duncan at Sugar Shack Tattoos, way up in Kincardine Ontario. He is amazing. His website really doesn't do him justice. He has won tons of awards and is so versatile. I have seen about 6 of his tattoos in person and his line work is amazing. His colour is super saturated and stays even for years. I gave him a really detailed description of what I wanted, the feel, the look, the meaning, the style and gave him some links to other tattoos I admired, and left it up to him. Floral isn't everyone's style - but he executed it beautifully. It has healed very well - I think he did a great job of saturating the colour without overworking the skin. On day 7 it is itchy and a dry, but has been *looking* healed for 2 days! It never weeped beyond the first couple of hours, and nothing scabbed. It was 4.5 hours under the needle. I was so done like dinner when it was over!

I think I will get the other shoulder done next year in a similar style but different content.

Thank you so much! The kudos goes to my artist, Scott Duncan at Sugar Shack Tattoos, way up in Kincardine Ontario. He is amazing. His website really doesn't do him justice. He has won tons of awards and is so versatile. I have seen about 6 of his tattoos in person and his line work is amazing. His colour is super saturated and stays even for years. I gave him a really detailed description of what I wanted, the feel, the look, the meaning, the style and gave him some links to other tattoos I admired, and left it up to him. Floral isn't everyone's style - but he executed it beautifully. It has healed very well - I think he did a great job of saturating the colour without overworking the skin. On day 7 it is itchy and a dry, but has been *looking* healed for 2 days! It never weeped beyond the first couple of hours, and nothing scabbed. It was 4.5 hours under the needle. I was so done like dinner when it was over!

I think I will get the other shoulder done next year in a similar style but different content.

What do you have on your chest?

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I have a total of 8 tattoos, but last summer I had some added to my quarter sleeves I'm working on my left arm. I have to keep everything covered up for work. I design all my own tattoos, but have a shop I go to and they tweak my designs to fit tattoo formats. My chest piece I did as a tribute to my granfather. I wish I could post a pic on here to show it.

Anyway, my grandfather, who I was close to passed away nearly 20 years ago. He was a moderately famous (at least in our area) guitar player who played for alot of famous gospel groups and even did some fill-in work for the Statler Bros. (I believe that's who it was). He played a classic Chet Atkins style Gretsch guitar. It was kind of his trademark. Everyone knew him by his guitar.

Whenever he'd leave, if my mom ever told him to be careful on the way home or wherever he was going, he'd always laugh and say "Darlin, don't you watch the movies. You know the hero never dies". I had a large cross tattood on my sternum. The inside of the cross is the Gretsch guiatar my grandfather played and there is a ribbon that runs around it that says "The Hero Never Dies".

For most who see it, they would assume it was a reference to Jesus, which works for me too as a Christian; however the addition of the guitar design inside the cross gave it a dual meaning.

I have a total of 8 tattoos, but last summer I had some added to my quarter sleeves I'm working on my left arm. I have to keep everything covered up for work. I design all my own tattoos, but have a shop I go to and they tweak my designs to fit tattoo formats. My chest piece I did as a tribute to my granfather. I wish I could post a pic on here to show it.

Anyway, my grandfather, who I was close to passed away nearly 20 years ago. He was a moderately famous (at least in our area) guitar player who played for alot of famous gospel groups and even did some fill-in work for the Statler Bros. (I believe that's who it was). He played a classic Chet Atkins style Gretsch guitar. It was kind of his trademark. Everyone knew him by his guitar.

Whenever he'd leave, if my mom ever told him to be careful on the way home or wherever he was going, he'd always laugh and say "Darlin, don't you watch the movies. You know the hero never dies". I had a large cross tattood on my sternum. The inside of the cross is the Gretsch guiatar my grandfather played and there is a ribbon that runs around it that says "The Hero Never Dies".

For most who see it, they would assume it was a reference to Jesus, which works for me too as a Christian; however the addition of the guitar design inside the cross gave it a dual meaning.

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I love it.

I only have one other tattoo that is very small and not in a visible place. I would like the other shoulder done. I think that it is very sexy to have big tattoos that aren't always visible. I also think that some people rock many, many tattoos, but for me I like that my tattoo can be hidden, or I can show it off with a sleeveless top. I would like to get my entire back done eventually - but I don't think I will do my arms or front.

So, my Nathan hydration pack tube got mouldy. Eww. I left the pack full of electrolyte drink for 5 days and the tube got black mould. I gave that mould a beautiful place to live: warm, wet and full of sugar! So I tried to figure out a way to clean it with no special equipment. I didn't have anything that long that would go through the tube.

So I improvised:

I got a very long shoelace and tied one end in a large knot. I slipped the aglet end into the tube (with the attachment ends removed) and when it got stuck to the sides I gave the tube a whack, and eventually I was able to snake the whole length of the tube. When I pulled the wet shoelace through, the knot scrubbed the sides. I repeated twice.

However, this week it was back after I left the pack for a few days again (bad habit, gross too!). This time I poured salt down the tube once the shoelace was in it, and then coated the knot in salt and when I pulled it through it super scrubbed the tube. It came out beautifully clean. Then I rinsed with hot water and left to dry.

I only have one other tattoo that is very small and not in a visible place. I would like the other shoulder done. I think that it is very sexy to have big tattoos that aren't always visible. I also think that some people rock many, many tattoos, but for me I like that my tattoo can be hidden, or I can show it off with a sleeveless top. I would like to get my entire back done eventually - but I don't think I will do my arms or front.

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I love my ink and unless I'm wearing a v-neck tee or a shirt with the top button unbuttoned, you never see mine. Even my arms are covered if I'm wearing short-sleeves. As a sales manager, I have to be conscious of that and try to not offend anyone.

So this week I got very busy with births and missed running Wednesday. I did make my Thursday which was 5k. Saturday I did 24k (yeah!) and Sunday I did 10k.

Inexplicably my weight is at 212. BOOO. I could cry. I have been working so hard at this. Granted, my diet isn't super low-cal, but it is reasonable with good nutrients, lots of protein, and very little junk. I find it hard to believe with running 4 times a week that I cannot eat a normal diet. In fact, I am up 3 pounds this week! I'm sure some of it is women's cycle stuff, but seriously, I think I should be losing weight. I do find that the day after my back-to-back weekend runs that I am up a bit - perhaps due to muscle inflammation holding water?

But I guess I have to hunker down and do more. It sucks to have to work so hard to just be gaining weight. And yes, my hormone panel is normal. I had to be bullemic as a teenager to maintain a normal weight. Even when I was anorexic I never got below a normal BMI.

-latte with agave syrup
-bowl of roasted pork, roasted root veggie and bean soup (from leftovers, and it smelled so good in the crockpot!)

Lunch was at an AYCE chinese place but I stuck to 80% veggies (still high in fat although most were sauteed but there was one in black bean sauce) and then some poached fish and some beef in a sauce. I had a small amount of desert squares that were teeny tiny.

Dinner:
-pan fried basa loins in lemon pepper panko crumbs (small amount of oil in pain, not even enough to cover bottom)
-home made french fries in the ActiFry- so only about 2 tbsp oil used for all 5 people
-some veggie

So I'm not that good at charting. The good news is that my weight was down to 208.8 this morning. Yahoo! I think the little surge I saw was some water weight. Will still work hard on it as I want to be lighter for the race, and another 2-3 pounds down would be great (1 pound loss per week).

Gave myself a 2 day break from running as my muscles were really sore from the weekend's good distances, but I am running about 5k tonight, and hills tomorrow (5k in total).

I was planning on doing 18-20 miles yesterday but I got called by a client in the morning before I went off call, and by the time I was done I was running out of time. We had a big family Christmas dinner and I was feeling very stressed by the idea of my run being on a schedule, or not getting enough time to have a nice bath after my run. So I did 10k instead and had a nice run of 10:1s. I stuck to a steady 13min/mile including the walk breaks, so that was nice.

My speed is still down a bit after my knee injury. My knee is feeling pretty darn good, with some minor soreness during runs, and some minor residual swelling that I can only feel when my knee is bent fully and I am putting weight on it. Unfortunately, the other knee is more sore during runs, feels like a little muscle on the outside of my knee is getting overworked. It is pretty minor though. My knees don't like the running I do.

Tomorrow is now my long run. We have no schedule and so there is no pressure on top of the pressure of actually running it! Yesterday was super windy, cold and icy and 18 miles in that would have been pretty awful. Tomorrow is forecasted to be a bit warmer - hopefully little wind.

Part of my run yesterday was by a bay of Lake Ontario, and then down along the shoreline. In the bay there were about 500 Canadian Geese sitting on the water, bobbing and honking. It seemed late for them to still be here and not further south, and there were so many! It is seeing things in the natural world when I am out running which is one of my favourite things to do while running. If not for running, I would have been home sitting around and completely not connecting with nature outside. Part of our run took us off the path and through a little trail bit. It was nice to hear the crunch of frozen grass stems under our feet and be sheltered from the wind by the long grass and low bushes and trees. It was really quite peaceful.

I don't have a weight update because I haven't weighed myself in a few days. I don't care right now. Eating well, watching extra calories sneaking in, and generally not paying my actual weight too much mind right now. Totally not cheating, just don't have the mental space to fuss about it.

Today we are driving to the Ottawa area to pick up some natural lambs for the freezer and to do some visiting. It will be a long drive, but DH and I end up doing some good chats on the long drives. It was one of the motivators for getting the motorhome: we like traveling together and often have great conversations while driving.

I am totally looking forward to tapering. I have had the usual race nightmares - those are fun!

Ugh - my weight is 214 this morning. Gross. I thought I was doing well over the holidays - no seconds, staying pretty much away from too many sweets, not too much rich food, but alas, there it is.

I am going to recommit to eating really clean. This morning I have a latte as usual, and a smoothie of strawberries, a titch of agave, almond butter, and raw milk. That is my breakfast.

I realize that other than running I am not doing very much these days, and that is why the weight is creeping back up. Back I go to working out every day with one rest day. Today is a run day, but I will get in a bit of cardio and some weights, too.

I managed my long run - but cut it a bit short. I left my house at 1pm with a plan to meet my sister at the half-way point of my trail run. The trail is good and challenging, and over the course of the 22k I ran it went up in elevation about 700 meters and down about 600m, cumulative. I met my sister after 13k. The trails were icy and muddy, alternating, and made for some slow going. I hiked a fair bit, as it was almost as fast as running, and there were many branches to duck under, and roots and rocks to step over. I had planned on getting there at 245, but it was 310 before I got there. My sister was late anyway.

Unfortunately it became apparent that we were not going to make our way back in the light of day. We got to one road about 3/4 of the way down and I called my DH. It was dark, and with the ice and hills to navigate, I called it for safety. I was partly relieved because I was sore as a new runner as the trail was hard, but disappointed that I had only gone about 21k. We walked up a monster hill and jogged down the road until DH came, adding another km. When I got home I was just so disappointed in myself, so I changed out of my wet and cold top half, and set out around the neighbourhood for another 4k. It was slow-going and painful, but I did it. I looked terrible, I am sure, stiff-legged and slow, but I finished and could tally my final distance of the day as 26k. A little short of my goal of 26-28k but the difficulty of the trail made up for some distance in my mind. Way harder than road running, but much more interesting.

The next day I was so sore. Even my core muscles hurt. That was the 24th. I didn't run on the 25th or the 26th, but today I am back at it. We are running 4 hills tonight, so not much distance, but some good work.

Had a terrific Christmas with the kids and enjoying some downtime. Managed to make a big difference in the basement where I have my desk area and some yarn and craft supplies. I share the room with the kids who have two couches and a mess of toys down there. It go so bad that I just didn't venture down there, but with the winter coming on I have been yearning to knit again, so yesterday I made a neat thing of my desk area, vacuumed and organized things. The toys are still a mess, but I have carved out my little area. Today I tidy my craft supplies. I knit, crochet, fold origami, make felted pictures and sculptures, paint, and make stone jewellery. I also have all the house papers, trip souvenirs, tax papers and kids' ephemera near my desk, so that is a task for another day. With the woodstove-fireplace down there it can be quite cozy when it isn't a terrible mess.

Today it really snowed. The first big one of the season. DH said he was happy for his 4-wheel drive truck today. I am happy to have the kids home and no real agenda of places to go or things to do. That is real contentment for me. I started re-reading the Outlander series, so that has also been a pleasure this holiday. I go back on call on Saturday.

Went out yesterday for my last run of the year: 12k. Went with my friend H and had a good run. Stuck to 10:1 intervals. Most of the time we were running on snow, and so my knees felt a bit beat up after the run. I have a weird pain in my left foot that has been bothering me a few days. I think it is just a joint inflammation.

Ran about 1200 km this year, with another 100k of hiking
Was 250# Jan 1, now 210.
Lost 20# off my measurements
Ran 3 hours per week on average, and hiked/walked another 30 mins/week
Ran 14 races from 5k, 8k, 10k, 16k to 21k

I love these stats!

Challenging myself to 1500km this year.
Weight down to 195
Running 3-4 hours average, with walking and hiking 30 mins/week
More cross-training
A PR in 5k and 10k
and 13 races

My crazy yo-yoing weight? 216 this morning! Up and down, up and down. The thing is, it is trending up so I gotta get serious, stop having little slip ups, and hunker down. The 21 is artificial as I feel really bloated and full this morning. However, I can see the trend of weight creeping back on. I bought some bakery treats yesterday and indulged, but I will stay strong from here on in.

Went for 5k yesterday, with some hills in there. Was scheduled for 4 hills with our group but did 2.5 instead as the hill was icy and slick in some spots, and hills really hurt my knees, so in the interest of tapering I did half of them. Still got in a nice 5k.

Today is 6k steady. Last run I think and then 10 days of tapering! I'm not sure how I feel about that - worried that the weight will creep on even more. My coach says to do NOTHING. I'm not sure I can do that.

Today we are celebrating the kids being home one more day. Gotta do grocery shopping and get some k-cups. I'm going to do some yoga I think. I did an upper body 30 minute workout yesterday.

TOmorrow I am meeting my old coach and the Learn to Run group (they have continued to run together, but I haven't been able to fit their short distances into my training plan or the half marathon group I am pacing. But tomorrow I will catch up with them and do a light short run, and then coach and I are going out for a beer to discuss race strategy, and as he says, "to pump up my tires" as I am feeling so insecure and self-doubting.